Bead-fastener.



F. B. FLEMING.

BEAD FASTENER.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 10. 191s.

1 1 77,505 Patented Mar, 28, 1916.

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Gamm@ @VH1/wow THE COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH co.. wAsmNGTDN. D, c.

' narymanner and each of the two ends of UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEroE.

FENTON B. FLEMING, v0F LINCOLN, NEBRASKA.Y

. BEAD-EASTEEEE.

To all whom it may concern: Be it known that I, FENToN B. FLEMING, citizen of the United States, residing at Lincoln, in the county of Lancaster and State of Nebraska, have invented certain'new and useful Improvements in Bead-Fasteners, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has relation to beads as used in jewelry, and has for its object to provide a more practical and efficient means for fastening and unfastening a string of beads in the every-day Vuse of the wearer; to provide a more -eiiicient and practicalmeans for holding the ends of the cord or chainon which the beads are strung; and

to combine the above advantages in a design having all of the parts interchangeable, entirely contained within the beads, and renewable without the use of heat, weld, solder, cement, wax or braze.

The parts are so arranged that the mechanisms are concealed and the clasp device may be operated without the use of levers of pressure catches, it being merely necessary to press theparts rmly together to accomplish the fastening and to pull the parts persistently apart to accomplish the unfastening.

For a full understanding of the inven# tion reference is to be had to the following description and accompanying drawing, Vin which:

Figure lis a side elevation of the fastening as applied; Fig..2 is a sectional view of the fastening.

Further objects and advantages will appear in the following description, it being understood that various changes may be made in the construction, arrangement and.

combination of the parts without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the following description and indicated in all the views of the accompanying drawing by the same reference characters. In operation, the beads constituting the necklace, bracket orV what-not vare strung on a suitablecord or chain 1 in the ordithe string or chain is then passed into one of the parts forming one half of my fas-l tening device where it is held rmlyin place bv the rounded end of a screw as illustrated clearly in the drawing at Fig. 2. Y In holding the ends of the string as heretofore practised, the string is either oe- Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 2s,- 1916.

Application filed February 10, 1916. Y Serial No. 77,451.

mented, soldered or waxed under the action of heat which burns the gold yor singes the string. Also the solder or cementing material often runs down into the catch device mechanism and clogs it so that it willl not operate properly. These disadvantages My complete fastener consists of two main portions, each comprising one entire bead integral with a half bead so that when brought together they form three complete beads which are rigid and possess no flexure between. This design enables the wearer to locate the fastening very readily when worn about the'neck or other part of the person where it is unhandy or impossible to scan the joints with the eye when unfastening the clasp; for, the beads being i exactly similar tothe other beads comprising the string it would be exceedingly difficult to locate the joint through Ythe sense` of touchunless aided by the stiffness of the three beads. Y

The beads comprising the fastening are preferably made to correspond to the beads now in usevin the ordinary trades, so that when used with such bead stringsthe whole Vstring shall conform exactly in size, polish and configuration.

A fastening method for clasping and unclasping the string of beads is a necessary part of the complete device and this part of the invention is accomplished as follows: Referring particularly to Fig. 2, the flange 7 being screwed into the bead 4: provides a collar or shoulder 8 for holding the other bead in true alinement when the two parts flange 7 is provided centrally with tube like projections 9 and 10 which act as a guide and receptacle for the male projection 6 integral with the bead 2, the tube part 9 being shaped to facilitate the entrance of the male member 6 and the tube part 10 being slotted onV opposite sides of its outer periphery for the reception of a steel wire spring 6 shown clearly in Fig. 2. rlhe male member 6 is provided on its outer periphery with a beveled annular groove 6a which engages the aforementioned spring A.11o j.

with a more or less positive grip when in-Y around the male projection 6 it will be seen that the beads may beseverally rotated when in a clasped condition, the 'spring thus encountering an infinite number of wearing surfaces to the end that a much longer life of the device is attained. v In Vcase the spring becomes worn or broken it may be reached for renewal or repairs by unscrewing the flange 7 from the bead 4:, otherwise the flange 7 is considered by the wearer as integral with the part 4, andserves as a protection andconcealment for the springto prevent foolish or meddlesome tampering with the same.

This application is a substitute for ap. plicants earlier application Serial Number 651,402', filed September 26, 1911', mid :re-

newal application vSerial Number 857,950,

ceivingsaid string, and a screw alined with said aperture and adjustably engagingtheY hollow member ata point diametrically Opposite the aperture and adapted to'. bear against the string to clamp the same against.

the inner side of the member.

In testimony'whereof I 'aflix my signature n in presence of twowitnesses. .Y I n. FENTON B. FLEMINGL Witnesses: i l

CLAUDE S. WILSON, 'y HELEN CHRISGHILLES.

copies of this patent may be obtained for five` cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,y Washingfom-D. C. I 

